Naval Action

Naval Action is a naval combat game set in the Age of Sail. You sail and fight historic ships, using the wind, your vessel and tactical decisions to defeat opponents. You can begin by practicing and improving your skills, ships and connections with allies before taking command of larger vessels.

Sailing and combat

Wind and physics shape each ship’s speed and turning. Yard angles, the ship’s angle to the wind, fittings and condition all affect performance. Tacking, boxhauling and clubhauling can help you handle difficult conditions. Ships can be spotted from 20 km, so combat depends on closing in and fighting with broadsides; a smaller vessel can overcome a larger one by targeting its weak points.

The game models damage by location. Cannonballs are tracked in flight and can cause leaks, structural damage, torn sails, demasting, raking, fires and explosions. A hit can destroy a gun, pass through a balcony, ricochet off a gun, strike a crew member and leave through a gunport. Gunnery crews are placed deck by deck, while armor thickness and wood type affect hull strength. Cannonballs can ricochet off hulls at extreme angles.

Ships and weapons

The game features more than 50 ships, from small cutters to large first-rates carrying over 100 guns. Their hulls, sail plans, guns and internal upgrades are recreated using historical speed trials.

Naval artillery includes long guns, mortars, carronades and obusiers. Forts and land batteries can support battles near shore, while mortar vessels can attack fortifications and may need an escort. Gun ballistics and penetration are based on historical gun charts and admiralty tests; heel and wind affect firing distance.

Conquest and trade

You fight for control of the West Indies, recreated from 18th-century maps and navigational charts. You can build ships, trade, attack other nations’ ships across much of the world and capture vessels. Clans can open trading outposts in ports they govern.

Multiplayer battles

Battles are calculated on servers, including water and wave shapes, which are replicated to players in battle. The game is designed to prevent hacking in player-versus-player combat, so battles depend on players’ skills and ship fittings.